The Pro-Africa Team of the Pedro Donders Province met from March 22 to 24 at the Convent of San Alfonso in Villa Allende, Cordoba (Argentina). Members of the Redemptorist communities of Tucumán, Rosario and La Plata participated. The meeting was animated by the Provincial Commission for Africa and Madagascar composed of: Celeste Colombo, Gustavo Javier García, María Marcela Valenzuela, Sr. María Silvia Caresani (from Mozambique) and Fr. Ramón Correa, provincial councillor, were also present.
During the days of the meeting, we shared the path of the provincial team, evaluating the work of the past year and planning the objectives and activities for this year.
On Saturday afternoon we had a virtual meeting, open to all members of the province (lay and religious), with the formation house of the future Mozambican Redemptorists, located in Tsalala, west of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. Fathers Ernesto Steeman and Marcelo Fernandez, along with some seminarians, shared part of their life and activities in the seminary, as well as inviting all members of the new unit to accompany them in prayer and to collaborate with the Redemptorist mission on the African continent.
There was also a morning retreat where we prayed with the experiences of those in the Bible who were called by God to “go beyond borders” … personal, cultural and geographical. The morning retreat concluded with a look at Saint Alphonsus and his “exodus” as an invitation to let ourselves be guided by the Spirit by coming out of us to meet the poorest and most abandoned.
To conclude these days of meeting we had a communication via the zoom platform with Sister María Silvia Caresani, HMR and Rosita Liendo, a lay missionary. They introduced us to some young people from the Muvamba Mission (rural area of Mozambique) and a mother who works in the Mission. They shared their experiences, dreams and concerns and at the same time were able to exchange questions with the participants of the meeting to get to know each other better. Fr. Javier Machado CSsR, Provincial Superior, also intervened with a letter, greeting and encouraging the Commission for Africa and Madagascar to continue carrying out the project “for the sake of promotion and visualization in our Province, of the Mission in Africa and Madagascar, especially in Mozambique”.
The Eucharist and meals were shared with the young people who were participating in the Meeting of Redemptorist Animators and Counselors in the same retreat house. In this way they shared with those who animate and accompany the provincial youth ministry the joy of announcing the Redeemer beyond borders and were challenged to ask themselves in their hearts if the Lord could call them to be missionaries in Africa as lay volunteers or Redemptorist religious.
For those who want to stay in touch with the Pro-Africa team and follow the mission in Mozambique through the networks, you can go to the Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/redentoristasproafrica/
The Pro-Africa Team
